Glossary of the Sanctioning Guidelines

Dismissal: The student is permanently dismissed from the University.  Dismissals are noted on a student’s permanent transcript as “Dismissal: Violation of Honor System.”

Executive Board:  Honor Council members designated to adjudicate a case appropriate for an  expedited sanction, and who will use the Sanctioning Guidelines in making a recommendation of  sanction to the Dean.  Typically, the Executive Board includes the Honor Council’s faculty chair, a  student representative (undergraduate or graduate as appropriate), and the Executive Director. 

Ferpa: Per the U.S. Department of Education,  FERPA is a Federal law that is administered by the Family Policy Compliance Office (Office) in  the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”).  20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99.  FERPA  applies to all educational agencies and institutions (e.g., schools) that receive funding under any  program administered by the Department. FERPA prohibits the improper disclosure of personally  identifiable information derived from education records. Thus, information that an official obtained  through personal knowledge or observation, or has heard orally from others, is not protected under  FERPA. This remains applicable even if education records exist which contain that information,  unless the official had an official role in making a determination that generated a protected  education record.  FERPA applies to post-secondary students in public, private or parochial schools.   Under FERPA, a school must provide an eligible student with an opportunity to inspect and review  his or her education records within 45 days following its receipt of a request.     http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/students.html 

* also commonly referred to as the Buckley Amendment. 

Hearing Board:  Honor Council members designated to adjudicate a case through the hearing  process, and who will use the Sanctioning Guidelines in making a recommendation of sanction to  the Dean.  Typically, a Hearing Board includes five Honor Council members: a dean from the  accused student’s school, a faculty member and student from the accused student’s school, and a  faculty member and student not from the accused student’s school. For the cases of graduate students, members of a hearing board will be Honor Council graduate student members and faculty who come from  departments with graduate programs. 

In Violation:  A student is In Violation of the Honor System if that student has been found by the  Honor Council to have committed an act of academic dishonesty by violating a standard of conduct.   Such acts include, but are not limited to, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, and cheating.   More details about specific offenses are given in the Standards of Conduct, The Honor System,  Section III. 

Letter of Censure: A Letter of Censure becomes part of the student’s Georgetown University record (student file) and, with the student’s consent, may be shared with persons outside of Georgetown University, such as law schools that may ask about applicants’ records.  There are two levels of Letter of Censure.  

 The Level One Letter of Censure sanction for which the student is eligible for sanction reduction with the successful completion of a sanction reduction plan.

     The Level Two Letter of Censure sanction for which the student is not eligible for sanction reduction.

Letter of Reprimand: A Letter of Reprimand is retained in the student’s Georgetown Honor Council file until he or she receives either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from Georgetown University, at which time the Letter of Reprimand is destroyed.  The Letter of Reprimand sanction may not be disclosed outside the University, and is available only to authorized Georgetown Honor Council personnel who, in their professional capacity, have access to the student’s file. 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is difficult to define precisely.  Loosely speaking, plagiarism is passing off  another’s words or ideas as one’s own.  When using another person’s work, proper credit must be  given according to recognized styles of citation.  Most faculty will specify the preferred style for  their specific field of study or discipline.  A violation of the Georgetown Honor System for  plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. 

Sanction Reduction:  Students who successfully complete the Sanction Reduction Program will have sanctions of either Letter of Censure (Level 1) or Transcript Notation (Level 1) reduced to a Letter of Reprimand, which  then remains in the student’s Honor Council file until the student’s graduation, after which it is  destroyed.  The sanction reduction is not effective until the last day of classes of the semester two years following the semester in which the violation occurred (e.g., violation occurred in Fall 2015;  sanction would be reduced at the end of Fall 2017).  If the student will have graduated by that time,  the sanction of a Letter of Censure or Transcript Notation is removed completely from the  student’s academic record.  Application to the Sanction Reduction Program must begin within one  month of receiving the letter from the Dean informing the student of the final decision as to  sanction.  

Suspension: Suspension from the University is a serious, high-level sanction that is intended to provide students time away from the University to reflect on and learn from their actions.  Suspension typically will be imposed for one semester, but can be imposed for two semesters, at the discretion of the Dean.  Suspensions are usually for the semester after the violation occurred, but may be immediate or be one semester later (summer not included) if there was a delay in imposing the sanction.  A suspension is noted on a student’s permanent transcript as, “Suspension: Violation of Honor System,” and is not eligible for sanction reduction.

Transcript Notation: A notation is entered on the student’s official record (transcript) indicating that the student has received a sanction.  There are two levels of transcript notation.  Both notations include the text: “Censure: Violation of Honor System.”

     The Level One transcript notation sanction, and for which the student is eligible for sanction reduction, continues with the proviso: “This notation can be removed on [date] through student action.”  “Student action” means the successful completion of a sanction reduction plan.

     The Level Two transcript notation sanction, and for which the student is not eligible for sanction reduction, is the unqualified entry: “Censure: Violation of Honor System.”